Never mind whirled peas - visualize Virginia's food-access issues

Photo by Joseph McClain

Virginia is a prosperous state, yet even so, hunger and food access remain serious issues.

Dorothy McAuliffe, the first lady of the Commonwealth, recently launched the Virginia Food Access Network (VFAN), an interactive tool to address issues of healthy food access throughout the Commonwealth.

“Together, with the Commonwealth Council on Bridging the Nutritional Divide, we have worked to align our efforts to increase healthy food access, eliminate child hunger and accelerate the efforts of dedicated partners from across the state,” said First Lady McAuliffe said in a press release issued at a meeting of the Commonwealth Council on Bridging the Nutritional Divide.

“Through the Virginia Food Access Network, there is now unprecedented access to the data and resources stakeholders need to identify gaps and maximize impact to better serve Virginians struggling with food access and hunger,” she added.

The VFAN website is hosted by the Virginia Cooperative Extension Program. A large part of the site is a set of “story maps” that interface with an interactive map of the commonwealth to provide an easily accessible way to visualize data on food access.

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